Dreams
by 7thxheavenxx
Summary: Now a teenager, Michelle finds herself starting to see Aaron in another light and she's confused, especially since he likes someone else. Will she tell him how she feels? If so what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

Michelle Tanner was now a fourteen year old freshman in high school. Her childhood friends Aaron, Denise, Teddy and Derek attended the same school and she was still friends with all of them. Lisa was the only one who didn't end up at the same high school, but they still hung out every now and then.

As far as her family goes, a lot has changed over the years. Once the house across the street became available, Jesse and Becky bought it. It worked out great because they still came over every other day and it's almost like they haven't moved. About two years ago Joey met a woman named Leslie at The Smash Club. Six months ago she accepted his marriage proposal. They haven't picked a wedding date yet so he still lives in the Tanner house for now. D.J. reconnected with Steve after her senior prom, and after graduating University she moved in with him. As far as getting married goes, they agreed there was no rush and that they would know when the timing is right. Stephanie and Gia are roommates in their own apartment while she attends a local performing arts college. Danny's still single and working at Wake Up, San Fransisco.

Michelle held her stuff in her hand as she walked into the English class she shared with Denise and Aaron. She normally sat next to Denise while Aaron sat on the other side of the room with some of his friends. She socialized with her and a few other friends of theirs until the teacher started class.

"Alright let me do attendance real quick then we'll get started," the teacher began. As soon as the teacher got to Aaron she noticed this was the third day in a row he has been absent. "I see this is the third day in a row Mr. Bailey hasn't been in class. Anyone know if he's got something going on or if he's just determined to repeat ninth grade English?"

Everyone just sort of shrugged. If they knew what he was up to then they weren't going to tell. Michelle hadn't paid much attention to what he was doing lately. It had been a couple weeks since they last talked, not for any real reason other than having other things going on. The fact that he was missing multiple days of class concerned her though. She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a note to Denise. "Do you know what's going on with Aaron?"

"He's skipping," Denise wrote. "I saw him walk off campus with a couple other guys this morning."

Michelle wasn't surprised. She just didn't like it. "Should we try to talk to him?"

"And say what? He knows he shouldn't be doing it. That's probably why he is," Denise replied.

"I know but we're his friends. We should at least let him know we care," Michelle passed over.

"You can. I'm not going to waste my breath because he's not going to listen," Denise wrote.

Before Michelle could reply the teacher snatched their note, crinkled it into a ball and threw it away. "The next time I'll read it out loud."

"Sorry," they both said sheepishly.

Michelle knew Denise had a point, that the odds of Aaron actually listening to them would be slim. She felt she needed to try though. It wasn't in her nature to watch her friends do something stupid and not try to stop them. She was going to try to talk to him the next time she saw him.

* * *

After class ended they walked together as they were on their way to the cafeteria for lunch. As they turned the corner they saw Aaron with two other guys at a locker.

"There he is," Michelle whispered.

"Yep that's him," Denise replied.

"I'm going to go talk to him," Michelle said.

"Okay I'll meet you at our table then," Denise walked off.

Michelle marched over to the group of boys. "Aaron!"

"Michelle!" Aaron replied back in a mimicking tone. The other guys giggled. She didn't take offense as she knew he was just being funny.

"Why haven't you been in class? The teacher is asking about you," Michelle asked.

"Didn't want to go," Aaron answered.

"Nobody _wants_ to go. We do it so we can get through these four years as quickly and painlessly as possible," Michelle pointed out. Aaron stayed silent. "Look we have a test tomorrow. Come over later and copy my notes if you want so you don't fail it at least. What do you say?"

"Fine. Only because your dad lets me raid the fridge and sometimes there's something good," Aaron agreed.

At least he agreed to come over. "How's five-thirty?"

"Works for me," Aaron answered.

"Okay see you then," Michelle walked away.

* * *

A little before five-thirty the doorbell rang. Michelle rushed to get it since she knew who it was.

Michelle looked at the watch on her wrist. "Wow you're actually three minutes early."

"Yeah well my watch is five minutes ahead," Aaron said.

Jesse was in the kitchen on his way back to his place when they walked in.

"Hey Uncle Jesse, we're doing homework so can we have some privacy?" Michelle requested.

"Homework?" Jesse remarked at the idea of Aaron doing homework.

"Yeah _homework,_ you know the thing you do so that way you don't end up in a crappy rock and roll band that's going nowhere when your thirty," Aaron shot back.

Michelle's eyes bugged out. She needed to get Jesse out of there before they started arguing. She opened the kitchen door and nudged him out. "What's that? I hear Aunt Becky calling for you. You better go see what she wants."

Michelle got him out the door and he yelled, "I don't hear nothing!"

Michelle glared over at Aaron. "What has gotten into you? I know you and my uncle like picking on each other but that was uncalled for."

"I'm tired of people judging me and acting like they know me. Especially some loser who spends his days playing a guitar," Aaron explained.

Those words made Michelle angry. "Excuse me, my uncle is _not_ a loser! He has so much more than his band. He owns the Smash Club, has his own house, his own wife and kids. If you're going to diss my family then leave!"

Aaron didn't want to fight. "Look I'm sorry. Let's just switch the topic and focus on the notes okay?"

Michelle agreed. "Fine. I'll make us ice cream sundaes. Still like those?"

Aaron nodded. "Of course."

Michelle gave him both the ice cream and the notes. "So who else is judging you?"

Aaron looked up at her, wondering what she was talking about. "What?"

"You said that you are sick of people judging you. Who's judging you?" Michelle explained.

Aaron sighed. "Lots of people. I actually study and get a D and my dad yells at me and tells me it should have at least been a C. I wear my favorite clothes and he tells me I look like a punk. He thinks I need to live up to his shitty standards and I'm sick of fighting with his ass."

"That's parents being parents. The first day of high school I wanted to wear a mini skirt and a tanktop and my dad made me go put a t-shirt and shorts on. I skipped studying for my algebra test to sleepover at Denise's and got a F and got grounded for two weeks. They're just pushing you to be better so you can have a good future," Michelle reasoned.

"I do the exact opposite of what he wants just to make him mad. He's just making me worse," Aaron admitted.

"Sure you're making him mad but you're only hurting yourself in the long run. How are you going to feel next year when you have to redo your classes because you goofed around this year? Or when everyones at the graduation ceremony but you? Promise me that you'll actually read these notes tonight and come to class tomorrow to take the test," Michelle requested.

Aaron raised his eyebrow at her. "You're being awfully pushy. Yeah, fine, I'll go take the test if it'll get you off my back."

"Good," Michelle smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Joey requested that Michelle didn't make any plans for that evening. He had an announcement to share and he wanted the whole family over for dinner. She didn't mind staying home since it wasn't everyday the whole family ate dinner together anymore. She tried badgering the news out of him before everyone else found out but no such luck. Now she was going to spend the whole day guessing what the news could be.

Aaron actually made it to class that morning, but he rushed out of class at the sound of the bell before Michelle could ask him how he did on the test. She hoped he did okay, but she was just happy that he showed up. She wasn't sure if he would. Denise spent the rest of the school day teasing her, saying that Aaron only did it because he loves her. It got on her nerves real quick. Once school ended she was relieved to be at home so she didn't have to listen to it anymore.

Around six that evening the family started arriving at the Tanner house. Danny, Joey, Leslie, Jesse, Becky, Nicky, Alex, D.J., Steve, Stephanie and Michelle all eventually gathered together at the dinner table.

"You can't leave us guessing forever here Joey. What's the big announcement?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah what is it already Joseph? We're hungry," Jesse echoed.

"Alright, alright I left you waiting long enough. Leslie and I finally picked our wedding date," Joey announced.

"That's great! When is it?" D.J. asked.

"A month from tomorrow," Leslie answered. "We want to tie the knot before we move into the new house we finalized yesterday."

"Whoa you guys bought a house? Joey why did you tell me? That's awesome!" Danny patted Joey's shoulder.

Joey smiled. "We didn't want to say anything until everything finalized in case something went wrong. Our new house is only a few blocks away so we'll still be around all the time. They said we can start moving in about a month."

Michelle felt her heart drop, the same way it did when all her other family members moved out. As far back as her memories go Joey had always been there raising her. Now it was just going to be her and Danny in that house. She liked Leslie and grown to think of her as an aunt the same way she did when Becky came along, she just didn't want him to leave.

After the family finished eating everyone gathered in the living room, directing their attention to the details of the upcoming wedding. Stephanie noticed Michelle hadn't said a word and decided to go check on her.

"Everything okay Michelle? You haven't said anything since the announcement," Stephanie asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it," Michelle answered.

"That's understandable. It'll be good for Joey though. He gave up so much of his life to take care of us and now he can have his own family to take of," Stephanie said.

"We are his family though," Michelle replied. "It'll just be weird not having him here is all."

"I know but you'll adjust eventually," Stephanie assured her. "Think of it as the family growing. Now Leslie will be an added part of it, and if they have kids it'll be like having new cousins."

Michelle cracked a smile. It _was _kind of exciting being able to attend Joey's wedding and watching the family grow.

"Stephanie, Michelle," Leslie called them over. "Joey and I discussed it and we want you three girls as my bridesmaids. What do you guys say?"

"I'd love to," Stephanie and D.J. both accepted.

"Of course," Michelle smiled.

"Great! We'll all go get dresses next week. I hope you guys like purple," Leslie said.

"And as my best men I want Danny, Jesse and Steve. Are you guys up for it?" Joey asked.

"You were the best man at my wedding! Of course I'm going to do the same for you," Danny answered.

"What Danny said. You're practically my brother," Jesse accepted.

"Wow I'm surprised you asked me. Thanks Joey. You can count on me," Steve said.

Joey put his arm around him. "You've been around so long, you're practically a member of the family now Steve."

"Thanks," Steve smiled. D.J. grinned as well at the idea of Steve being considered a part of the family.

"What about us?" Nicky asked.

"You and Alex can be the ring bearers. That's one of the most important jobs in the wedding," Joey answered.

"Sweet," Nicky and Alex said in unison.

Once everyone got past the wedding excitement, they decided to play some games. Danny suggested Pictionary and the family played it for a good while. They spent the rest of the night laughing and having fun, enjoying spending family time together.


	3. Chapter 3

Michelle headed downstairs the next morning to get a bowl of cereal before going to school. Danny was in the kitchen as well making a pot of coffee before going to work. He poured himself a cup and took a seat at the kitchen table with her.

"I'm glad I caught you before you went to school Michelle. There's something we need to talk about," Danny said as he sipped on his coffee.

"What's that?" Michelle asked.

"I've been thinking about this for a while. We've already got more space than we need, and with Joey moving out we're just going to have more. I'm going to look into putting the house up for sale so we can move somewhere a little smaller," Danny answered.

Michelle was shocked. "What? Dad I've lived here my entire life! There's so many memories here. We can't move!"

"You're in high school now. In a few years you'll be going off to University and then it'll just be me in this big house. Look I know it'll be sad moving out of this house but it's for the best. We'd save a ton of money in the long run," Danny reasoned.

"Why does everything keep changing? Everyone has left except Joey who's got his foot out the door already, and now you're ripping the only home I've ever known out from under me. It's not fair. I like having Jesse, Becky and the twins right across the street. I can always see them," Michelle whined.

"Change comes with getting older," Danny said as he glanced down at his watch. "I wish I had more time to talk about this but I have to get going. We'll discuss this more later okay honey?"

"Okay," Michelle replied.

Danny leaned over and kissed Michelle's head. "Have a good day Michelle."

"Yeah right," Michelle mumbled after Danny was already out the door.

* * *

Michelle was in a bad mood all day. For once she actually wanted her classes to go as slowly as possible so she wouldn't have to go home and talk to Danny. After the school day ended she sat on the schools steps waiting for Denise so they could walk together. Aaron came out of the school and startled her by tapping her on the shoulder.

"I got a D. Probably would have been a F if you didn't help me out so thanks I guess," Aaron thanked her.

"What?" Michelle looked dumbfounded.

"You know the test that you pushed me into taking," Aaron explained.

"Oh," Michelle replied.

"You tired or something? You seem out of it," Aaron wondered.

"I just don't want to go home right now. First Joey tells us he's officially moving out last night and then my dad told me this morning he's selling our house and I'm upset about it," Michelle explained.

"Wait your moving? You're not like leaving this school are you?" Aaron asked.

"I hope not," Michelle answered. "I'd be really mad if I had to switch schools."

"If you don't want to be at home you can come hang out with me I guess. I don't have anything exciting going on so it might be boring though," Aaron offered.

"Boring sounds better than talking to my dad right now," Michelle said. "I just have to stop at home to drop off my things and leave my dad and Joey a note so they know where I am."

"Okay just come over to my house when you're done," Aaron replied.

Michelle nodded. "Okay."

After doing everything she needed to do, she walked over to Aaron's house. She was greeted by Aaron's mother who was really happy to see her. After answering a million questions about how she's doing she walked up to Aaron's room. She tapped on the door and he told her to come in. His room was very messy and smelled musty. She hadn't seen a room this messy since Stephanie went through a rebellious stage and decided not to clean the bedroom they shared years ago.

"Geez Aaron when was the last time you cleaned up in here?" Michelle wondered.

"It's not that bad," Aaron replied.

"Are you kidding? My dad would be in cardiac arrest right now if he saw this!" Michelle exclaimed.

Aaron smiled. "You're probably right about that. Go ahead and push my backpack off that chair so you can sit down."

She lightly placed his backpack on the floor. "So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Aaron shrugged. "I've got movies over there I guess if you want to watch one."

"Sure why not," Michelle walked over and looked through his collection. She picked out 'Fight Club' and handed the movie to him. "Here lets watch this."

"I've only seen this movie a million times but I guess for you I can see it a million and one," Aaron walked over to put it in the VCR. The two of them focused on the movie for a while until he broke the silence. "So have you calmed down some?"

"A little. Thanks for letting me hang out with you. I probably would have said things I would have regretted later otherwise," Michelle thanked him.

"It's cool. Not to get all sappy and stuff but I can't imagine you not being around. I've known you practically my whole life. You've always been there is what I'm trying to say," Aaron said.

"I'll always be here no matter where my dad makes us move to," Michelle replied.

Aaron stood up. "Yeah well I'm hungry. I'm going to go get us some chips."

Michelle focused on the movie until he came back in the room with a bowl full of potato chips. She grabbed a handful and started eating them one by one. "Thanks."

"So you know that blonde girl Kathy you and Denise are always chatting it up with in class? I was wondering if she's with anybody," Aaron wondered.

"Kathy? Not at the moment. Why do you ask?" Michelle raised her eyebrow.

"I don't know. She's kind of cute. I was thinking of asking her out on a date if she's single," Aaron answered.

"Oh. Well she's single but I don't know if I can see you two together," Michelle said honestly.

"And why is that?" Aaron asked.

"Come on Aaron. All she cares about is shopping and what everybody is wearing. You two have nothing in common," Michelle explained.

"No one said I have to marry this girl okay? If I gave you a note to give to her can I trust that you'll give it to her?" Aaron requested.

"I guess," Michelle replied. She didn't know why but the idea of Aaron and Kathy together just didn't sit well with her.

"Great I'll give it to you tomorrow," Aaron said.

* * *

A few hours later Aaron walked Michelle home. When she came in the house Danny was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. He was eager to talk to her.

"Hi Michelle. How was your day?" Danny asked.

"It sucked but I'm feeling a little better now," Michelle answered.

"I've been thinking all day. I shouldn't have forced it on you and given you an opportunity to voice how you feel. I'm sorry," Danny apologized.

"I just miss the days when everybody still lived here you know? It's still sinking in that Joey's leaving," Michelle admitted.

"I know how you feel honey. I'm still not used to coming home to peace and quiet. We still have each other though," Danny said.

"So if we moved would we move very far away?" Michelle wondered. "If hanging out with Aaron today has shown me anything its that I can't handle leaving my friends."

"Michelle I promise wherever we move to it won't be that far away. You'll still get to go to the same school you're at now. We may not get to see the family every other day but we'll be close enough that we can visit with each other regularly," Danny explained.

"I guess I'm okay with it then," Michelle accepted.

Danny stood up and gave Michelle a hug. "I love you honey."

"I love you too dad," Michelle smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Michelle strolled down the halls with Derek while they were both waiting for school to start. They were discussing whether they were auditioning for the upcoming school play. Derek was super excited about it but Michelle wasn't interested. He was disappointed by her lack of interest, but she had enough stuff going on in her life and didn't feel the need to add the stress of a school play on top of it. Aaron saw them walking together and approached them to talk to Michelle.

"Hey here it is," Aaron handed her a folded note with two staples in it.

"Really you stapled it? Did you think I was going to read it?" Michelle asked.

"I knew you were going to read it," Aaron replied.

Michelle put her hands on her hips and pouted. "Was not."

"If she says anything about it to you tell me okay?" Aaron requested.

"Okay," Michelle replied.

Aaron walked away and Michelle put the note away in her pocket.

"What was that about?" Derek asked since he was clueless about what was happening.

"He's asking my friend Kathy out on a date," Michelle said with an unintentional hint of sadness in her voice.

"So why do you look sad?" Derek wondered.

"Sad? I'm not sad," Michelle quickly replied. "I just don't like it for some reason. I don't think that they would be good together. What would they even talk about on their date?"

"You don't like it because _you_ like him," Derek shared his opinion. "I don't think it would bother you so much otherwise."

Michelle shot him an annoyed glare. "I don't like Aaron Bailey like that. Not now, not ever."

Derek smiled. "Whatever you say."

Derek then left her to go add his name to the sign up list for auditions. She didn't know what to do until school began so she wandered around the halls until she saw Denise.

"You look like someone pissed you off," Denise bluntly said.

"Aaron stopped us for a sec while I was walking around with Derek and he thinks I like Aaron," Michelle explained.

"You have been more focused on him than usual lately," Denise pointed out. "Speaking of him what did you guys do yesterday?"

"We just watched a movie and relaxed for a while. He's asking Kathy out on a date and he gave me a note to give to her," Michelle said.

"What does it say?" Denise wondered.

Michelle shrugged. "I don't know. He stapled it shut so I couldn't read it."

Denise giggled. "He knows you too well."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Am I the only one who thinks they would be an odd couple?"

"Who cares? Let them find out for themselves if they are or not," Denise replied.

* * *

Later on in class Michelle was trying to work up to giving Kathy the note. She was putting it off and it was annoying Denise.

"Good grief Michelle she's right behind you. Give it to her," Denise whispered.

"Relax I will," Michelle hissed. She was getting aggravated that she was being so pushy about it.

Michelle went up to the front of the class to talk to the teacher about her classwork for a few minutes. When she returned back to her table Kathy spoke to her.

"Denise said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?" Kathy questioned. Michelle froze for a second unsure of what to say back. "Well?"

"It's nothing," Michelle blurted out.

Kathy was confused. "Okay then."

Denise's eyes grew big and she looked at her sternly. "What are you doing? Why didn't you tell her?"

Michelle sighed out of frustration. "I don't know. Just drop it okay?"

Why couldn't she just hand it to her and get it over with? It shouldn't have been that hard. Everytime she told herself she was about to do it, something inside stopped her. It didn't help matters that Denise was being a pest about it. She had no idea what she was going to tell Aaron. Would she lie? Would she tell him the truth? She had to decide quickly because class was about to end and Aaron kept looking in their direction every other minute. She knew he was going to approach her after class.

Once the bell rang she tried to rush out of the class before Aaron could stop her but no such luck.

"Michelle," Aaron caught up to her. "Did she say anything yet?"

She decided to just spit out the truth. "I haven't given it to her yet. I just couldn't, I don't know why. Here take it back."

Aaron stood there in disbelief. "Wow. Do you really think I'm that bad for her?"

Michelle couldn't believe he jumped to that conclusion and was quick to defend herself. "What? No! It's not like that. I don't know what it is really. It's not you though."

Aaron shook his head. "Just forget it. I don't need you to do favors for me. I'll do it myself." He stormed past her before she could speak up.

He was mad and she felt horrible about it. A tear streamed down her face but she wiped it away before anyone noticed. She wasn't going to let herself start crying at school. She wanted a minute alone so she sat in the girls bathroom for a minute to get it together before joining her friends at lunch. She needed to figure out how to get Aaron to forgive her and she wanted to do it as soon as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

After the day she had, Michelle went straight to her room once she got home from school. She didn't want to talk to anyone. All she wanted to do for the rest of the day is lay in bed and listen to music. She went through her cds and picked one. After putting one in her cd player she rolled on her side and relaxed.

Becky heard the music playing so she lightly tapped on her door and let herself in. "Hey I'm taking the boys to the food court for some ice cream. Do you want to come with us?"

Michelle turned to look at her. "No thanks."

Becky could tell just by looking at her that something was bothering her. She took a seat at the edge of the bed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just had a bad day. Aaron is mad at me. It's stupid really," Michelle explained.

"Why is Aaron mad at you?" Becky asked.

"I have a friend in my class named Kathy. He wants to ask her out on a date and he gave me a note to give her. When it came time to give it to her though I froze up. I told him I didn't give it to her and he misinterpreted it as me thinking he's bad for her. He walked away before I could explain and I didn't see him at all for the rest of the day. I mean they're both great people but it's bothering me," Michelle answered.

"Do you think it would bother you if it was someone else he liked?" Becky questioned.

Michelle thought about it for a second. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Well Michelle it sounds like you have a crush," Becky said.

Michelle shook her head. "I cant though. It's Aaron of all people. He's been one of my best friends almost my entire life. I don't want crushes or dating to ruin that."

"Being a teenager is a really confusing time. Hormones take over and your emotions are all over the place. The relationships you have in your teen years are special though. Whether you end up together or not, it doesn't matter. When you're older you'll look back at these days and smile. If your feelings for Aaron are strong enough to where you might want a relationship with him, then you should strongly consider it," Becky advised.

Michelle shrugged it off. "It doesn't matter. He's mad at me anyway."

"He isn't going to be mad at you forever. Not over this," Becky assured her.

"Yeah, well thanks for the advice Aunt Becky. I'm still going to stay home, but it was good to talk about it without having to face the endless teasing like I would have with Denise if I talked to her," Michelle thanked her.

Becky smiled. "Anytime honey. Both of your sisters and I have been through this and so much more. If there's anything you want to talk about that you don't feel comfortable talking about with Denise we're always here."

"I know," Michelle leaned in to give her a hug.

* * *

While she was relaxing she fell asleep without realizing it. She was asleep for about two hours before Joey came in and woke her up.

"Michelle," Joey spoke as he lightly shook her.

"Yeah?" Michelle rubbed her eyes.

"Aaron's downstairs. Do you want to see him or do you want me to tell him you're sleeping?" Joey asked.

Michelle popped up. "Tell him to come up here." Her hair was a little messy from sleeping so she ran her fingers through it to try to flatten it as much as possible.

Aaron walked into her room. "Hey."

"Hey," Michelle greeted. "Listen I'm sorry about today. I didn't mean to upset you."

Aaron brushed it off. "It's okay. I don't think Kathy and I have any kind of future together anyway."

"Why is that?" Michelle asked curiously.

"I saw her in the hall with her arms around some other guy. I don't know what is going on there but I'm not going to ask anymore," Aaron answered.

Michelle was relieved but she pretended to look sad for him anyway. "Oh I'm sorry. She never mentioned anything about him to me."

"It's all good. I was mad earlier that you didn't give it to her, but now I suppose I'm glad you didn't. It might have saved me from an embarrassing moment," Aaron said.

Michelle put her hands in her jean pockets nervously. "Yeah putting your feelings out there isn't easy."

"Yeah. There will be other girls though," Aaron agreed. There was a moment of silence. "Well I just came over to tell you that so I guess I'll get going."

"Wait," Michelle stopped him. "What if I said I know of someone who likes you?"

He was curious. "Who?"

Michelle hesitated to say it. She was scared, but she managed to get the strength to say it. "Someone you've known since preschool."

Aaron stood there for a minute to let it register. When he figured out what she meant he spoke. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Michelle paced back and forth across her room, connecting her fingers together. "At first I couldn't figure out why I hated the idea of you two together, and why it was so hard to simply hand her the note. A few people thought that I have a crush on you. The more I thought about it, the more I realized they're right. I wouldn't like the idea of you with any girl. I know I just crossed some major friendship boundaries here, but I wanted to say it before you find another girl you like."

Aaron sat on the edge of her bed quietly. He was speechless. The lack of response was making her instantly regret admitting that to him. "I guess this is my embarrassing moment."

Aaron looked at her. "I remember when we were in seventh grade and the teachers grade book disappeared. Everyone in class was so quick to point their finger at me, but you stood up and told everyone there was no proof it was me. That was the first time I felt what a crush was."

"Oh yeah, and then I regretted it because it turned out it really was you who hid it on her," Michelle remembered.

Aaron smiled. "I know but you were the only one who didn't just assume it was me."

"So that was two years ago. What exactly do you feel now?" Michelle wondered.

"Since that moment there have always been some feelings there. I didn't think the day would come where you liked me too though. I wasn't ever going to act on my feelings because it's easier to be rejected by someone you have only known for a short while than to be rejected by someone you've known forever," Aaron explained.

"I didn't think the day would come either to be honest," Michelle said. "So now that we've got all this out in the open, now what?"

"We can try a relationship if you want. I just don't want it to interfere with our friendship if it doesn't work out," Aaron replied.

"I feel the same way. If we do this lets agree that we will stay friends no matter what," Michelle proposed.

"Agreed," Aaron approved. "So will you be my girlfriend?"

Michelle nodded and smiled. "Yes."

Aaron smiled. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

Michelle couldn't wipe the grin off her face. "Me neither. It's kind of late though so you should probably leave before my dad comes up and says something."

Aaron understood. "Okay. I'll meet you in the morning if you want?"

"Yeah," Michelle said. He leaned in and gave her a hug. She inhaled the scent of his hoodie. She never noticed how good he smelled before, like a really nice smelling laundry detergent. He turned away and walked out. Michelle sat back down on her bed taking it all in.


	6. Chapter 6

Michelle felt butterflies in her stomach as she entered the school the next morning. This was her first real relationship and she wasn't sure what to expect. She had no idea how different things between Aaron and her would be now, or how her friends and family would react to the news. All she knew was she had taken a big step last night and it felt right.

Aaron pulled the hood he was wearing off of his head as he entered the building. He spotted Michelle sitting on a bench by herself and walked over to her.

"Hey," Aaron approached her.

"Hey," Michelle smiled.

The two sat together silently for a moment. For the first time ever, she was feeling a little shy around him and she didn't know what to say next. Luckily Aaron broke the ice.

"So does anyone know yet?" Aaron wondered.

Michelle shook her head. "Not yet. I'll tell my friends today, but I have to figure out how I'm going to tell my family. More specifically, my dad."

"I'm sure your uncle is going to _love_ that your dating me," Aaron said sarcastically.

Michelle tried looking on the bright side. "At least he knows you already."

"That doesn't exactly work in my favor," Aaron replied. "Especially since I just called him a loser the other day."

"What matters is how I feel about you. No matter what my family thinks they'll just have to accept it," Michelle assured him.

Aaron stood up and reached his hand out to her. She put her hand in his as he pulled her to her feet. The two of them started walking around together aimlessly. As they were walking, he connected his fingers in between hers and they held hands.

"Would you like to go out tomorrow night since it's a weekend?" Aaron wondered.

"Like on a date?" Michelle questioned.

"Yeah. I was thinking we could go see a movie. I can have my friend drop us off and pick us up," Aaron offered.

"Sure. What time are you thinking?" Michelle asked.

"Around seven'ish," Aaron responded.

"Cool. I can't wait," Michelle smiled.

Michelle felt someone tap her on her right shoulder and it startled her, especially since she knew it couldn't have been Aaron. She turned and saw Denise and Teddy behind her. Both of them looked confused.

"Why are you two holding hands?" Teddy wondered.

Michelle looked over at Aaron to see if he would say something. He raised their connected hands and spoke up. "What does it look like?"

Denise shook her head. "Okay I'm totally confused here. Are you guys dating or something? And if so why don't _I_ know about it?"

"It happened last night," Michelle explained. "We're trying a relationship. No one at all knows yet so you guys are the first."

"Oh," Teddy said unenthusiastically. "Well congrats."

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Denise exclaimed as she hugged both of them.

"Thanks," Michelle grinned.

* * *

The next afternoon she was rehearsing in her mind how she was going to bring up the date to Danny. Ultimately she decided she wasn't ready to have that conversation with him and would just tell him that they're going with friends. She found him dusting in the living room and went to ask for permission to go.

"Hey dad, is it okay if I go to the movies with Aaron and some friends of ours tonight?" Michelle asked.

"Sure honey. Just be home by ten. Also I'm going on a date tonight and Joey won't be home so be sure to take a key," Danny requested.

"Will do. Thanks dad," Michelle said.

Michelle ran upstairs to pick out the outfit she would be wearing. She wanted to pick something that looked nice, but not nice enough to make her dad suspicious. After rummaging through her closet for a half-hour she managed to find a pink top and black skirt she liked. She went in the bathroom to apply her makeup and put her hair in a ponytail. Shortly after she finished she heard the doorbell ring. She rushed downstairs to get it before Danny could.

She was expecting Aaron to be behind the door, but instead it was a familiar face from the past. "Vicky?"

Vicky's face lit up when she saw her. "Michelle? I can't believe how grown up you are now!" She stepped inside and examined her.

"Are you my dads date?" Michelle wondered.

"Yep! I can't believe he didn't tell you. I quit my job and I'm moving back to San Fransisco," Vicky said.

"Wow that's great! I'm surprised he didn't say anything," Michelle replied. Danny walked in looking spiffy in a tuxedo. "I think you forgot to fill me in on a few things dad."

Danny grinned. "I know. I wanted it to be a surprise! She stopped by my work last week and well, here we are!"

"So are you two back together?" Michelle asked.

"We will see how tonight goes," Vicky answered.

The doorbell rang and everyone turned their attention to the door. Michelle walked over to get it. "It must be Aaron."

"Hey Michelle," Aaron greeted and stepped in.

"Well I have to get going. It was nice seeing you again Vicky," Michelle gave her a hug.

"It was nice seeing you too Michelle!" Vicky hugged her back.

"Okay, remember, back by ten! You two have fun," Danny said.

"Same to you two," Michelle waved and left.

* * *

Aaron's friend dropped them off in the parking lot and they walked inside the theatre. They agreed to just see whatever movie started soonest. After buying their tickets, popcorn and soda they sat in the theatre. They had some time to kill before the movie began and they were the only ones in there so far.

"I can't believe Vicky is back," Michelle was still in shock. "I'm happy about it. I just don't want her to break my dad's heart again."

"I hope things go well with them. That way he's in a good mood when he finds out our news," Aaron replied.

"Good point," Michelle agreed and took a sip of her soda.

"I'm really glad we were able to go out tonight. I'll be right back," Aaron said.

Michelle sat there focusing on the commercials that played. Five minutes later Aaron returned with a Tweety bird stuffed animal. "This is for you."

Her face lit up in surprise. "Aw where did this come from?"

"The crane machine game in the arcade. I saw it as we were walking in and thought you might like it," Aaron explained.

"I love it. Thank you," Michelle took it and tucked it beside her.

Aaron slid his arm around her shoulder as the theatre darkened and the movie was starting. After the movie ended the two of them talked about it the entire way home. Once they arrived at her house, Aaron walked her to her front doorstep.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" Aaron wondered.

"I did. Did you?" Michelle asked.

"I did," Aaron looked down at his watch. "And I got you home five minutes before you had to be."

Michelle smiled. "I'll call you tomorrow morning."

Aaron nodded. "Okay. Before I go," Aaron leaned in and gave her a five second kiss on the lips. "Have a good night Michelle."

Michelle stood there frozen, grinning heavily, with her hand covering her lips. "You too." She then went inside and went up to her room.


	7. Chapter 7

The next week was very busy for Michelle. Between helping the family prepare for the wedding, homework, and balancing time with other friends she spent most of her time with Aaron at school. That's why she was so happy that he was on his way over. She felt bad about being so busy, but she apologized several times and he said he understood. Once the wedding was over it wouldn't be as bad.

Michelle was doing some quick tidying up in her room. She was expecting to hear the doorbell so she can head down to let him in, but he came up on his own. He knocked on the door and she opened it to see who it was.

"Aaron," she sounded surprised. "I didn't hear the doorbell."

"That's because Leslie was on her way out when I came to the door. Joey told me to just come on up," Aaron explained.

"Thank goodness," Michelle sighed in relief. "Having to reassure her every day that the wedding will be perfect is driving me crazy!"

"If you want to get out of the house you can always call me," Aaron offered. "It sucked not being able to hang out after school last week."

"I know," Michelle took a seat on her bed. "I missed you."

Aaron sat beside her on the bed. "I missed you more."

"Nuh uh! The whole time I was trying on dresses I was wishing I was with you instead. I missed _you_ more," Michelle argued.

"Nope. I missed you more. Now do I have to kiss you to keep your mouth closed long enough to win this argument?" Aaron asked.

"That's about the only way you are going to," Michelle answered.

Aaron wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her on the lips. After a few seconds he released from the kiss but Michelle pressed her lips back on his. As they were kissing Michelle's door flew open.

"Michelle I need to borrow your...whoa," Alex gasped.

Michelle quickly stopped kissing him and stood up. "Alex there's such a thing as knocking you know!"

"But it's important! There's a full moon tonight and I want to borrow your telescope so I can see it up close," Alex explained.

"You can borrow it under one condition. You don't tell _anybody _about what you just saw okay? It's a secret," Michelle propositioned.

"Yeah fine," Alex accepted.

Michelle walked over to her closet and dug it out. "Remember don't tell anybody or I will kill you."

Alex took the microscope from her. "Okay I won't."

As Alex walked out, Michelle sat back down. She was freaking out about what had just happened. She couldn't believe he would just walk in her room like that without knocking. She had the urge to go complain to Jesse about it, but she needed Alex to keep her secret for now.

"I can't believe the little twerp just did that," Michelle growled. "He better keep his promise."

"Michelle they're going to find out anyway. Would you rather they hear it from you, or do you want them to find out the way your cousin just did?" Aaron pointed out. "Me, I'd rather they just know and get it over with, but it's your call."

Michelle looked at him and realized he was right. Danny would flip out if he walked in on them kissing. "You're right. I'll tell my dad tonight."

* * *

About three hours later after Aaron went home, Jesse came in through the living room door looking for Michelle. He was storming around and didn't see her so he started yelling.

"Michelle get in here!" Jesse yelled. Danny and Joey came in wondering what the problem was.

"What are you yelling about Jess?" Danny asked.

"I just overheard Alex tell Nicky he saw Michelle making out with Aaron in her room today!" Jesse's voice shook.

"What?!" Danny and Joey couldn't believe it. Danny assumed there was a mistake. "Michelle's not even dating yet. I don't believe it."

"Aaron has been over here more than usual lately. We used to go weeks at a time without seeing him but he's been over here a lot over the past couple of weeks or so," Joey pointed out.

"Michelle get down here!" Danny yelled.

Michelle came running down the stairs. She had no idea what was going on but whatever it was it sounded serious.

"What is going on between you and Aaron?" Danny asked.

Michelle shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

Jesse jumped in. "I overheard Alex tell Nicky he saw you and Aaron making out. Is there any truth to that?"

Michelle sighed. She was going to chew Alex out the next time she saw him. "We weren't _making out_. We were kissing. Aaron and I are in a relationship. I was working up the courage to tell you."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Jesse exclaimed. "That smart mouth is not going to become my nephew someday!"

"Look I know Aaron isn't perfect but I really like him," Michelle defended.

"How long have you and Aaron been a couple?" Joey asked.

"Almost two weeks," Michelle answered.

"Good then it won't be that hard to end things," Jesse said.

"Uncle Jesse!" Michelle exclaimed.

"I'm kind of siding with Jess here," Danny agreed. "I don't know if I want you dating right now. You're still young."

"What? Why? D.J. and Stephanie were both dating when they were my age! I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm in high school," Michelle argued.

"What do you think about this Joey?" Danny asked.

"I think Michelle has a point. D.J. and Stephanie were both going out with boys around this age. It's only fair to let Michelle too," Joey answered.

"Think about all the times that kid has mouthed off to us, or gotten in trouble. Is that someone you really want Michelle with?" Jesse argued.

"I know he hasn't been the most well-behaved person, but I've been a positive influence on him lately. He was skipping and I got him to come back to class. He's been in class every day since," Michelle reasoned.

Danny shook his head. "I don't want you dating him until I think long and hard about it."

"I can't believe this! I told the truth and this is what it gets me? I regret ever telling you guys! I'm never telling you guys anything else again," Michelle ran upstairs to her room crying.

Michelle slammed her bedroom door behind her and rushed to her phone. The only thing that could calm her down was to hear Aaron's voice.

"Hello?" Aaron answered.

Michelle sniffled. "Hey it's me."

Aaron could tell she was crying. "What's wrong?"

"Alex couldn't keep his big mouth shut and my Uncle Jesse found out. He stormed over here and told my dad and he don't want us dating until he thinks about it," Michelle explained.

"Wow," Aaron was speechless. "So they're really that much against it huh?"

"Joey was on my side. I'm not mad at him. I have never been so mad at Uncle Jesse in my life though," Michelle wiped tears from her eyes.

"So does that mean we have to break up?" Aaron wondered.

"No. It means I'm taking a stand. I'm taking the whole day off from school tomorrow. Are you with me?" Michelle asked.

"Damn I never thought I would see the day Michelle Tanner cut school. Count me in," Aaron replied.

"Good," Michelle sniffled. "I'm going to change my dads mind and I'll do whatever it takes."


	8. Chapter 8

Michelle paced back and forth in front of the school nervously while waiting for Aaron. They had agreed to take off as soon as both of them got to school. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She would look at the kids in her classes who skipped a lot and think they were being stupid, and here she was doing the same thing. She pondered whether she should change her mind or not, but then she saw Aaron from a distance and remembered how excited he was about it when they were on the phone together. She didn't want to disappoint him.

Aaron walked up the sidewalk and made his way to her. "Why are you walking back and forth like a penguin?"

"I'm just a little nervous," Michelle said.

"You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Aaron reminded her.

"I want to. Besides I've never done this kind of thing before. I should try to live a little bit while I'm in high school," Michelle replied.

Aaron could tell by her body language that she wasn't comfortable with it. She had her arms folded and was looking around every couple seconds to make sure nobody was watching her. He wasn't sure if he should let her go through with it or convince her to go to school. "If you insist."

"Lets go before I change my mind," Michelle took his hand and the two of them walked away from the school.

Michelle had no idea what they were going to do so she let Aaron decide. He led her to a local park not too far from the school. They walked over to a picnic table where they sat down. Aaron pulled out a bag of pretzels and the two of them snacked on those.

"I have to be honest with you. I'm glad that we get to spend the day together, I really am. I'm just not sure I did the right thing by not trying to talk you out of this," Aaron admitted.

Michelle was confused. "I don't understand. You were excited about this last night."

"I know, but then I saw you this morning and I realized that this isn't you. If I encourage you to do bad things then I can see why your family isn't thrilled about me being your boyfriend," Aaron explained.

"I wish everyone would see that I'm a girl who can make her own decisions," Michelle groaned. "Please don't feel guilty."

"I know you can. I just care about you is all," Aaron said.

"I care about you too," Michelle replied.

After swinging on the swings for a while, the two of them sat together in the shade under a tree. Aaron put his arm around Michelle's shoulders and pulled her close. They watched the younger kids as they played on the playground.

"Remember when that used to be us?" Michelle asked.

"It doesn't seem like that long ago," Aaron replied.

"Would you go back to that age if you could?" Michelle wondered.

"Nah. Younger Aaron would have never been with a girl. I'm the happiest I have ever been right now," Aaron answered.

"That's true. Remember when you tried to get Teddy not to play with me because I'm a girl?" Michelle questioned.

"Shush, I was like five," Aaron defended himself.

Michelle smiled and looked down at her watch. Time seemed to be going by quickly. Aaron slid his fingers through her medium-length hair and placed it behind her ear. He kissed her softly on the lips. Both of them closed their eyes as they enjoyed the moment. They continued kissing each other for about ten minutes before Michelle stopped kissing him.

"I'm kind of hungry. Are you?" Michelle placed her hand on her stomach as it growled.

"Yeah we should eat something," Aaron agreed.

* * *

A few hours later when it was time to leave, Aaron walked her home. Michelle entered her house around the same time she normally would if she were coming home from school. Jesse and Joey heard her come in and stormed from the kitchen to the living room.

"Okay young lady. Where were you?" Jesse questioned angrily.

"School," Michelle lied.

"Really? That's funny because the school called here wondering why no one bothered to call in for you. We were worried!" Joey exclaimed.

"Does dad know?" Michelle asked.

"No, only because he was off working on a story when we called," Jesse answered. "Now where were you really?"

"I took the day off," Michelle responded.

"Let me guess, you were with Aaron," Jesse rolled his eyes.

"Yep and it was my idea so you can't blame him," Michelle smiled. "I'm assuming you guys are going to tell dad so when he wants to yell at me, tell him I'm in my room."

Michelle ran up to her room. Jesse and Joey looked at each other stunned by her attitude.

"Wow," Joey stood there wide eyed. "Should we go upstairs and talk to her?"

"Nah lets wait for Danny. Otherwise I might end up yelling at her," Jesse replied.

* * *

Two hours later Danny arrived home from a long day of work. Jesse and Joey were by the front door ready to tell him everything. Needless to say, once he heard everything he was mad.

"Michelle get down here!" Danny yelled.

Michelle came out of her room and walked downstairs. "Yeah?"

"You already know what this is about. What do you have to say for yourself?" Danny questioned angrily.

Michelle shrugged. "I don't know."

"Why did you do it?" Danny asked.

"Because you're treating me like a child! I'm in ninth grade. I shouldn't need your approval to have a boyfriend," Michelle answered.

"You're sure behaving like one! I might have overreacted but that's no excuse to skip school. You're grounded for two weeks," Danny punished her.

"At least you admit that you overreacted," Michelle said.

"I know I did. I knew the day would come where you would want to date, I just wasn't ready for it. If you want to date Aaron I'm okay with it, as long as you guys take the relationship slow and it doesn't have a negative effect on you," Danny replied.

"Really?" Michelle grinned.

"Really?" Jesse frowned.

"Thanks dad," Michelle walked over and hugged him. "And I'm sorry for what I did. I won't ever do it again."

"You better not," Danny hugged her back. "Because if you pull another stunt like this I will forbid you from seeing him."

Jesse stepped up. "Munchkin I know I haven't been very supportive. I'm not crazy about Aaron being your boyfriend, but what's important is that you are. If you're happy, I'm happy."

Michelle nodded. "Thanks Uncle Jesse. That means a lot."

Jesse leaned in for a hug. "I love you kiddo."

"I love you too," Michelle reciprocated.


	9. Chapter 9

A week had passed and it had been one of the slowest weeks of Michelle's life. She couldn't wait to be ungrounded so she could have a life after school again. There was an upside though. Everyone was now cool with her dating, in fact Joey even gave her permission to bring Aaron as her date for his wedding which was quickly approaching. She was super excited to ask him if he would come. There would be dancing at the reception, and this would be her first time dancing with a boy in a romantic way. She assumed he would say yes because, well, why wouldn't he want to? He was dying to spend time with her and he knows Joey. She just needed to find him.

She eventually spotted him playing hacky sack in the hallway with a few of his friends. She watched them kick it around and waited until the current game was over to interrupt without being rude.

"Aaron can I talk to you for a minute?" Michelle requested.

"Sure babe," Aaron stepped out of the next game. "You're super smiley. What's up?"

"I've got some good news," Michelle grinned.

"Please tell me you're finally ungrounded," Aaron pleaded.

"I wish. The good news is Joey said I can bring you as a date to his wedding next week. Will you come with me?" Michelle asked.

Aaron took a second to find the right words to say. "Michelle weddings aren't exactly my scene."

Michelle felt her heart sink when she realized he wasn't happy. "It's only one night. Come on, it'll be fun. Dancing, tons of food, wedding cake. Doesn't that sound good?"

"I don't like getting all dressed up in a tux as it is, but after all the drama from last week I just really don't feel comfortable going to a family event as big as Joey's wedding right now," Aaron declined.

"Aaron, my entire family has dates! Even Stephanie who doesn't even have a boyfriend right now is bringing someone. If you don't come with me I'm going to be stuck with the twins. Plus I'm going to feel bad if my boyfriend isn't there," Michelle said.

Aaron shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm not going."

Michelle could feel anger pulsing through her. "If you can't show up to something that means this much to me, then that shows how much you care about me. I can't believe how selfish you're being."

"Oh I see! Not wanting to go to an event that will make me super uncomfortable means that I don't care about you and that I'm selfish. If you say so Michelle," Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Yep I do!" Michelle exclaimed as she stormed away from him.

Michelle waited until she was far enough away to where she couldn't see him anymore and took a seat. All of a sudden it sunk in that her and Aaron just had a fight. Part of her wanted to go back and fix it, but she was still so mad over him saying no that she couldn't bring herself to do it. Teddy saw her sitting alone and decided to join her.

"What happened? You were practically running down the halls just now," Teddy asked.

Michelle felt a tear form in her eye, but she blinked it away. "Aaron and I just had a fight. I wanted him to come with me as my date to Joey's wedding and he said no. I'm so mad, but I feel bad at the same time."

"So if he doesn't want to go just take somebody else," Teddy suggested.

"I don't want to take _just anybody_. Joey's only going to get married once hopefully, and when I remember it years from now I don't want to remember my date being some random guy who I never went out with again. Besides, I had it all played out in my head how perfect it would be to get to share my first real slow dance with Aaron. Now it's not happening," Michelle explained.

"You're forgetting a couple of things here. One, he is a fourteen year old boy. Two, well, he's Aaron Bailey. Did you really think that he would get all hyped up over dressing all fancy and slow dancing?" Teddy wondered.

"It was a false hope I guess," Michelle replied.

Teddy understood. "Well hopefully you guys can come to some kind of compromise."

Michelle sighed. "I might as well just get used to the fact that I'm going to be at the kids table with Nicky, Alex and whoever else comes."

Teddy shrugged. "Well like I said, it's not too late to invite somebody else."

* * *

Michelle and Aaron avoided each other the rest of the school day. When she got home she was surprised to see that her older sister D.J. was there. She was a local journalist and was doing an article about 'Wake Up, San Fransisco' which she needed to interview her father for. As nice as it was that Teddy was there for her, she figured it would be more helpful to get the opinion of someone who's been through it all before.

"Hey D.J.! If you're not busy right now can I get some sisterly advice from you?" Michelle requested.

"Of course. I'm all ears," D.J. replied.

"It's Aaron. He declined my invitation to Joey's wedding and we ended up having our first fight. I said that he don't care about me and that he's selfish. Then I talked to Teddy and he thinks if Aaron don't go I should ask someone else, but I really want Aaron as my date. I'm so confused! What do you think?" Michelle asked.

"Believe me Michelle, every woman has had a time where they had to try to convince their man to do something they don't want to. I think you should work it out with him, and if he still doesn't want to come then don't let it ruin your fun at the wedding," D.J. advised.

"I doubt he will want to talk to me for a while after calling him selfish and everything," Michelle said.

"I don't know about that. Go look in the kitchen," D.J. replied.

Michelle had no idea why D.J. was directing her to go into the kitchen. She was shocked to see Aaron sitting at the kitchen table nibbling on some cookies.

"Aaron," Michelle was stunned. "What are you doing here?"

"I talked to Teddy about everything and afterwards I felt like kind of an asshole. I was so wrapped up in how I felt that I didn't realize how much you wanted me there. I'm sorry," Aaron apologized.

"I should be the one apologizing. I was a bit out of line with the things I said," Michelle responded.

"It's okay. If you still want me to be your date I'll go out and get a tux," Aaron offered.

"I don't want to make you do something that will make you too uncomfortable," Michelle replied.

"I want to. It'll make you happy, and besides free food doesn't sound half bad," Aaron said.

Michelle smiled. "I'm glad you changed your mind."

"Well I better get out of here before your dad gets home since you're grounded and all. I'll call you," Aaron walked over and kissed her.

"Okay. I can't wait to here from you," Michelle replied as he left.

D.J. came into the kitchen after she saw Aaron leave. She was curious to know how everything went.

"So what happened?" D.J. asked.

"I've got a date to the wedding!" Michelle squealed.

D.J. grinned. "I'm so happy it worked out for you."

"So when exactly did Aaron get here anyway?" Michelle asked.

"Ten minutes before you got home. I told him you weren't home yet, but he really wanted to talk to you so I let him in. I can tell by the smile on your face that I made a good decision," D.J. explained.

"Yeah you did. He's going to call soon so I'm going to go wait by the phone. Thanks for all your help D.J.," Michelle hugged her.

"No problem Michelle. That's what sisters are for," D.J. replied.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a chaotic day in the Tanner house as it was finally Joey and Leslie's wedding day. Joey pretty much had all of his stuff packed into boxes to be moved over to the new house. They could move in any day now and they were planning on moving everything over first thing tomorrow. Michelle walked by his room on the way to the bathroom and took a second to look at it. With the exception of his bed, the room was practically empty. There was no toys, or puppets, or anything that filled the room with Joey's personality left. It saddened her, but she had accepted that it was really happening and she was happy for him. The light was still on for some reason, so she turned it off and closed the door behind her.

She made her way into the bathroom to get ready. She put on the purple dress that Leslie helped her pick out a while ago with dress shoes. She decided to put on eye-liner, mascara and purple eyeshadow that was a lighter shade than the dress. She left her hair down, but put a few hair clips in to keep her hair out of her face. She didn't usually use perfume, but since it was a special occasion she sprayed two dabs on her neck.

She went into her room and waited for Aaron to arrive. He was going to ride to the wedding with her, Danny and Vicky. She heard a light tapping on her door and shouted at whoever it was to come in.

"Hi Michelle," Joey greeted.

"Hey Joey. I thought you already left for the church," Michelle thought.

"I am in a minute. I just wanted to double check and make sure you guys are all set before I go," Joey said.

"Oh. Well I'm good. A little nervous, but good," Michelle replied.

"Try to relax. I'm nervous enough for the both of us," Joey responded. "You look so beautiful and grown up. Leslie picked a lovely color for you girls to wear."

"Thanks," Michelle smiled. "If you think I look good wait until you see your wife to be. The dress she picked is stunning."

"She's always beautiful," Joey beamed. "I still can't believe I'm actually getting married today! After a while I had my doubts that I would ever find someone and settle down, but then Leslie came along and I realized anythings possible. I'm glad that the family likes her because that's one of the most important things to me."

"Of course we love her! She's like family. I'm glad you guys are getting married," Michelle said.

"Me too," Joey smiled. "Well I should probably get to the church. I'll see you there."

"Okay. Good luck," Michelle replied.

About thirty minutes later Aaron finally arrived. Danny answered the door and he was in a hardcore picture taking mood. Michelle came down the stairs and Danny snapped as many pics as he could.

"Dad don't you think you should save your film for the actual wedding?" Michelle questioned.

"Don't worry about that. I've got plenty of film! Now stand next to Aaron so we can get a good picture of you two," Danny said excitedly.

Michelle gave him a look to let him know she was sorry. Aaron put his arm around her and they let him take his pictures. Once Danny was satisfied Aaron observed her.

"Wow you look gorgeous," Aaron complimented.

"Thanks," Michelle blushed. "You look great too."

Danny looked down at his watch. "We're picking up Vicky on the way so we have to get going now."

* * *

Once they arrived at the church, Michelle had to join her sisters as they were waiting for the wedding to begin. Stephanie introduced her date Liam, her friend from school to the family. Michelle was a little shocked that he looked to be about D.J.'s age. She was expecting someone closer to Stephanie's age. Eventually after a while the wedding finally began. Steve escorted D.J., Jesse escorted Stephanie, and Danny escorted Michelle down the aisle. As Leslie and her father walked down the aisle, Michelle felt Aaron staring at her. She looked over at him and gave him a smile. He smiled back at her and waved.

After they got through the 'I do's', Joey and Leslie were finally a married couple, and everyone headed over to the reception. Michelle went over to join Aaron finally.

"We're going to be eating in a minute," Michelle said.

"Great. I'm starved," Aaron replied.

Michelle smiled. "I saw you staring at me. I thought it was cute."

"I couldn't help it. You were the most beautiful girl up there," Aaron flirted.

"Aw," Michelle leaned in for a kiss.

"I think I'm going to be sick from the sweetness overload at this table," Nicky complained.

Michelle glared at her cousin. "Then go sit at another table."

Everyone ate and then some upbeat music started playing. Various people were dancing, but Aaron didn't want to so she stayed with him. Aaron eyed her to go outside with him so she did.

"It's slightly more private out here," Aaron said as he put her arms around her and kissed her.

"I know. I want to dance a little though," Michelle replied.

"We will," Aaron assured her. "I just wanted a moment to kiss my girl without your cousins in our business."

"They're a pain sometimes aren't they?" Michelle agreed. "I don't know if I've said it enough but thanks for coming. I'm so glad your here."

"Babe you've said it a million times now. It's alright. I'm glad I'm here with you," Aaron hugged her and they kissed for a little bit.

D.J. came outside looking for her. "There you are! We need you inside. We're about to do a toast."

"Okay I'm coming," Michelle replied as they headed back in.

* * *

Everyone sat around while they listened to the long toasts. Danny rambled on and on about his long history with Joey to the point where Jesse had to run up and cut him off. Jesse talked about how he and Joey became brothers after they came together to raise the girls. All three of the girls talked about how glad they were to have Joey and Leslie in their lives and wished them all the best.

Michelle came back to join Aaron as the song "Amazed" by Lonestar started playing. She was getting ready to sit beside him but he stopped her.

"Don't sit quite yet," Aaron stood up. "I would like to dance with you."

Michelle grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

Aaron led Michelle onto the dance floor as they held each other while slowly moving back and forth. It was pretty much as perfect as she expected it would be. That was until Kimmy and her date bumped into them and nearly knocked them over.

"Watch where you're going Kimmy!" Michelle groaned.

"You try dancing in these shoes!" Kimmy retorted. She was wearing some of the longest heels Michelle had ever seen.

They resumed back to dancing while staring into each others eyes. Michelle slid her head on his chest for the remainder of the song. By the time it was over she was happy it happened, and not even Kimmy could ruin the moment for her.

Afterwards the girls gathered together as Leslie was about to throw the bouquet. All the non-married girls went after it and Stephanie ended being the one to catch it.

"I got it! I got it!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"Well I caught it at Becky's wedding, so I'm automatically getting married first," D.J. teased.

"We'll see about that," Stephanie challenged.

* * *

After it was over everyone was so worn out that nobody spoke on the way home. Michelle found herself drifting into sleep a few times. Danny pulled in front of Aaron's house to drop him off. Michelle got out of the car and went to his doorstep to wish him a good night.

"Isn't the guy supposed to walk the girl to their doorstep?" Aaron joked.

"I just wanted to tell you that I had a good time tonight," Michelle said.

"So did I," Aaron yawned. "I need to get some sleep."

Michelle nodded. "I'll call you tomorrow." She gave him a kiss and walked back to the car to head home.

* * *

The next morning she was awoken by the grunts of the guys getting all of Joey's things onto a moving truck. Becky, Leslie, Nicky and Alex were also there.

"Geez Joey are there a bunch of rocks in here?" she heard Jesse whine.

"Yes. That's my rock collection," she heard Joey reply.

"It looks like these are the last two boxes," she heard Danny say.

She headed downstairs so she could say goodbye and watch Joey leave. She was so glad that she woke up on her own because no one bothered to wake her up and she would have missed it otherwise.

"I'm sorry Michelle. Did we wake you?" Jesse asked.

"No," Michelle lied. "Can I help with anything?"

Joey looked around. "I think we've got everything. I guess this is it."

Danny looked at him sadly. "I guess it is."

"I knew it would be hard, but I didn't think it would be this hard. I don't know how to say goodbye," Joey tried to avoid tearing up.

"It's not goodbye. You're just a couple of blocks away," Michelle said.

"Michelle's right," Becky agreed. "Take those boxes and go make new memories. We'll always be right here whenever you need us."

Joey nodded. "Give me a hug."

Joey went around and hugged everyone. He looked around one last time and him and Leslie got in the moving van. Everyone stood in the front yard and watched as they drove away together. Jesse put his arm around Michelle to let her know that it would be okay while Becky did the same to the twins. As soon as they were no longer in sight everyone went back into the house.


	11. Chapter 11

Aaron came over to Michelle's table to chat with her before class began. They knew they wanted to do something together over the weekend but they had no idea what. The idea of going to see a movie seemed boring, and hanging out at the Smash Club didn't sound appealing. All the ideas they listed off to each other got a response of either 'eh' or 'maybe'. Denise came along, took her seat beside Michelle, and joined in on the conversation.

"Whatcha guys talkin' about?" Denise wondered.

"We're just trying to come up with something to do this weekend. It's hard to believe that in a city as big as San Fransisco we can't come up with an idea we both like," Michelle replied.

"Well I've got the answer! My parents are going out of town this weekend to visit my uncle. I convinced them to let me stay home, and I'm going to throw a little party tonight," Denise proposed.

"Wait. You convinced your parents to let you throw a party without their supervision?" Aaron asked.

"The party didn't exactly come up. But if I only invite, lets say fifteen or so of my closest friends they won't even know," Denise explained.

Michelle looked over to get Aaron's opinion. "Well what do you think?"

"Sounds like fun," Aaron nodded.

"Okay we'll be there," Michelle accepted.

"Great! Be at my place at eight," Denise said.

* * *

Around seven-thirty Michelle sat in the living room waiting for Aaron. Danny knew they were going to Denise's house, but she convinently left out the word 'party'. She did this so she wouldn't be lectured about what typically happens at high school parties and/or be forbidden to go. She wasn't a smoker nor a drinker, and neither was Denise or Aaron, so she didn't need him to worry.

Aaron picked her up and the two of them held hands as they walked over to Denise's house. Standing on the sidewalk in front of her house, they could practically hear the song playing word from word. Denise let them in and they made their way through everybody to get to the kitchen. There was about twenty people or so there that she recognized from school. Teddy and Kathy were there as well. There were lots of chips, cookies and soda, but what stood out to Michelle was the beer and tequila that was on the counter. She was stunned that Denise would allow it.

"Look whats on the counter," Michelle pointed it out to him.

"Beer? Well don't mind if I do," Aaron smiled and grabbed a can.

"Aaron!" Michelle exclaimed.

"Relax babe. I'm not going to get drunk. I'm just going to have one small can of beer," Aaron reasoned.

"And what if one beer _does _get you drunk?" Michelle asked.

"It won't. Trust me," Aaron replied, implying this wasn't his first beer ever.

Michelle stepped away from Aaron while he sipped on his beer and made her way over to socialize with Teddy. She wasn't upset that he was drinking, but she didn't want to watch him do it, so she figured she would talk to someone else for a little bit. Teddy was in a little area by himself, and it didn't look like he was enjoying himself too much.

"Hey. Are you having fun?" Michelle approached him.

"A little. The loud music is giving me a headache. Where's Aaron? I thought you would be attatched to him," Teddy joked.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "I don't know if you noticed but there's free alcohol in the kitchen."

"Ah and he's enjoying it," Teddy caught on.

"Bingo," Michelle replied.

Denise and a couple other girls in her grade named Kylie and April approached them. Michelle never really talked to them in class, but she got the vibe that they were stuck up. Denise had a beer in her hand while the other girls had a cup of tequila.

"Hey you guys. How are you liking the party?" Denise asked.

"We're having fun," Michelle answered. "I didn't know you drink now though."

"Kylie brought it and I never drank before. I was curious," Denise explained.

"Are you going to drink tonight Michelle?" April wondered.

Michelle shook her head. "I don't drink."

"Of course not! Don't you guys know she's a Tanner? Tanners are like little special snowflakes, and when the teachers get one in their class it's like Christmas. They do no wrong! Isn't that right P.J.'s little sister?" Kylie insulted her.

"D.J.," Michelle corrected her. It always embarrassed her when on the first day of class, a teacher would boast about how great D.J. or Stephanie was in front of the class, or seeing an old trophy still hanging up in the halls from something they accomplished while they were students there. This was the first time it ever came back to haunt her though.

"Lay off Michelle! She's my girl. She's cool," Denise defended her.

The girls didn't say anything in response and they walked away. Michelle sheepishly went to sit by herself. After having some girl she barely knew insult her, she wondered how many people actually saw her as a goody two-shoes. Aaron saw her sitting alone, looking sad, so he went over to see whats up.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Aaron asked.

Michelle looked up but didn't say anything. Her eyes lowered down to the beer in his hand and she reached out for it. "Let me have a drink."

"Huh?" Aaron was confused.

Michelle grabbed the drink out of his hand and took a big gulp. It tasted so horrible that she nearly spit it all over the carpet, but she managed to swallow it. "I'm redefining what it means to be a Tanner."

Aaron raised his eyebrow. "Again, huh?"

Michelle shook her head. "Never mind. I'm going to get a can for myself."

Aaron had no idea what was going on, but he let it go. "Okay. Well since you won't hate me for drinking, then bring me another beer too please."

Michelle decided she would rather try the tequila to see if it tasted any better than beer. Unfortunately she didn't like it the taste any more than she liked the beer. Still she kept drinking it because it made her feel better about what the girl said to her. After a while she got to the point where the taste didn't bother her as much. She stumbled over to Kathy to dance with her. She didn't recognize a whole lot of what was going on around her, and had no idea if she actually danced, but she was startled when Teddy pulled her off of the floor.

"Here drink this," Teddy handed her a glass of water.

"Why?" Michelle asked.

"You're falling all over the place. You need to sober up or your dad is going to kill you," Teddy explained.

"My dad kill me?" Michelle mindlessly mumbled. Teddy held the glass to her mouth and put water in while she swallowed.

Aaron stumbled over to them. "I need water too."

Teddy was frustrated to see they were both drunk. "How are you guys getting home?"

"Walking," Aaron answered.

"Walk? You guys can barely stand up on your own. You're going have to call Danny or someone to give you a ride," Teddy pointed out.

"Crap," Aaron realized that Teddy was right.

"No call daddy. Call Stephanie," Michelle said.

Teddy had no idea what Stephanie's phone number was, so he pulled Michelle's cell phone out of her purse and went through her contacts hoping Stephanie's number was there. It was, and he explained what had happened. Stephanie agreed to pick them up from the party, so he helped them get outside.

* * *

When Stephanie arrived she wasn't happy at all, but no one really figured she would be.

"Michelle," Stephanie groaned as she helped them in the backseat. "How could you do something this dumb?"

"I had to," Michelle replied.

Stephanie realized she wasn't going to get a coherent answer until they had sobered up a bit more. She knew if Danny saw Michelle like this he would flip out, possibly forbid her from seeing Aaron, so she figured it would probably be best if Michelle and Aaron slept on her couches for the night. She called Danny and made up a story, saying Michelle and her wanted to catch a sale at the mall in the morning and that she invited Michelle to sleep over. Danny didn't question it and said it was fine. When they got in her apartment she made Aaron call home and let his parents know he was sleeping over.

Once they sobered up enough to where they could give straight answers, Stephanie didn't hold back from grilling them.

"What were you guys thinking?" Stephanie asked.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I swear. I didn't think there would be alcohol since Denise doesn't drink, but then there was. Then one of Denise's friends implied I was a goodie two-shoes because I wouldn't drink, and because the teachers love that I'm a Tanner. I got so mad that I gave in. Don't worry it won't happen again because I'm not going to another party," Michelle answered.

"That's why you drank? You should have told me what her friend said. I would have straightened her out," Aaron said.

"I went through the same thing Michelle, always having to live in D.J.'s shadow, not just with teachers but with dad too. Still, it's not a good enough reason to go out and get drunk. It's dangerous. I'm not going to tell on you, but I'm not going to cover for you like this if you decide to go out and do it again either. If dad ever finds out I did this you're not the only dead one here," Stephanie explained.

"I know. Thanks for picking us up," Michelle thanked her.

"Yeah, thanks." Aaron followed.

"You're welcome, but I'm not the only one you should thank. You guys are lucky you have a friend like Teddy who cared enough to make sure you got home okay," Stephanie reminded them.

Stephanie left them alone and went into her room to sleep. Michelle laid on the couch feeling crappy, not just because she was slightly hungover, but because she drank in the first place.

"Do you feel terrible too?" Michelle asked.

"No, but then again this isn't my first time," Aaron answered.

"Oh," Michelle replied.

"We should get some sleep. Hopefully you'll feel better in the morning," Aaron said.

"I hope so," Michelle agreed. Her head and stomach was hurting a lot.

"Goodnight Michelle," Aaron smiled.

"Goodnight," Michelle turned off the light on the lamp behind her and allowed herself to fall asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Monday morning Michelle was putting her stuff away in her locker. She spent the remainder of her weekend ill in bed. She couldn't muster up the strength to call Aaron. He witnessed how sick she was when they woke up the next morning at Stephanie's. He was the one who kept her hair out of her face as she threw up. She was feeling normal again and was looking forward to seeing him.

From a distance he saw her in front of her locker so he walked over to her. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A lot better," Michelle answered. "How was your weekend?"

"It was fine. Did you hear about what happened to Denise?" Aaron asked.

Michelle looked at him concerned. "No. What happened?"

"When her parents got home, one of her neighbors ratted her out. Apparently they were so upset about the loud music that they almost called the cops. I don't know all of the details, but I heard she's in so much trouble," Aaron said.

"Oh man!" Michelle replied. "I'm so glad my dad didn't find out. He bought the 'I have the flu" excuse when I came home sick."

"Yeah we got lucky," Aaron agreed.

Michelle grabbed her Biology folder that she needed for her first class of the day when a folded piece of paper fell onto the floor. She didn't notice it so Aaron picked it up for her. On the outside it said "From Teddy'. He tried not to let it bother him as he brought it to her attention.

"Teddy stuck something in your locker," Aaron handed it to her. "Does he always write you little notes like this?"

Michelle looked at the letter confused and shook her head. "Of course not."

Aaron stood there watching her expressions as she read it. She looked tense as she quietly read it to herself. He could tell whatever he wrote, it shocked her. She folded it up and stuck it back in her locker.

"So what did he want?" Aaron asked.

Michelle knew the contents of the letter would upset him, so she wanted to get his mind off of it and hoped to switch the topic. "It wasn't much. So back to Denise..."

"Michelle," Aaron said sternly. "I can tell by your face that it was something. What did he write?"

Michelle knew he wasn't going to let it go. "If I show you, you have to promise not to overreact okay?"

Aaron was already getting angry, but he promised to remain calm. By the time he was finished reading it, he could feel his blood boil. The letter read:

_Michelle,_

_It was easier for me to write this than say what I want to say to your face, so I am sitting here in my room at three in the morning writing this. What happened at Denise's party tonight bothered me a lot. I need to tell you that I have feelings for you. You're with Aaron, and I know that, but I were in his position I would have done a better job of taking care of you. I also can't help feeling like I waited too long to speak up. Maybe if I would have said something earlier, you would be with me right now. I'm going to end this so I can go to bed, but I felt it was time to let you know that I like you. It probably won't do any good, but it's now out there. Write me back,_

_Teddy_

"I can't believe him!" Aaron nearly shouted.

Michelle grabbed his arms. "Aaron, you promised you would remain calm."

"You know, after these past ten or so years I thought he was my friend! I guess he's showing his true colors now," Aaron said.

"He is your friend! I don't know why he's doing this now, but I promise I will make it clear to him that I like you and only you, okay? I don't have any romantic feelings for Teddy whatsoever. Just promise me you won't bring this up to him. I'll deal with it," Michelle requested.

"If he's smart he won't talk to me for a while," Aaron replied.

"Please just promise me. I don't want this to blow up into some big dramatic thing," Michelle begged.

Aaron gave in. "Fine. I won't bring it up. In fact, as long as he don't talk to me, then I won't talk to him."

"Okay. The first bell is going to ring in a minute so I'm going to head to class," Michelle leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips.

* * *

Aaron turned the corner to head to his first class of the day. Teddy was further down the hallway. When Teddy spotted him, he waved and started walking towards him. Aaron didn't know if he could handle talking to him in any capacity right now. All he wanted to do was sock him in the face. The only thing that was stopping him from going up and punching him was his promise to Michelle.

"Hey. Did you have a good time at the party?" Teddy wondered.

"Dude, just don't. Not now," Aaron dismissed him.

"What's wrong with you? You seem upset," Teddy asked.

"If you don't know why I'm upset then you're stupider than you look. Now go away," Aaron ordered.

"Whoa," Teddy grabbed his arm. "Why are you mad at me?"

Aaron pulled his arm back. "Don't touch me bro! Did you think that I'd be happy that you're sending _my_ girlfriend little love notes? Yeah I saw it! Now I'm warning you, leave me alone!"

Aaron tried walking away before Teddy grabbed him again. "Wait Aaron! Let me explain please."

The next thing Aaron knew he was punching him in the face. All the nearby students ran over in excitement to watch. Aaron got him down on the floor and continuously punched him in the face. All Teddy did was lay there and use his arms to try to block the punches the best he could. A teacher ran over to them and pulled Aaron off of him, leading them both to the principals office.

* * *

During the passing period to go to her next class, she passed by the office as Aaron sat outside with his stuff, waiting to be picked up. She had heard all about the fight when a bunch of kids came into class talking about it. Aaron wasn't watching the kids pass by, instead he had his head down looking at the floor.

"You promised me this wouldn't happen!" Michelle approached him angrily.

"I'm sorry. I tried ignoring him, but he just kept pushing me and I lost it," Aaron apologized.

Michelle wasn't ready to accept his apology. "I can't talk about this right now. I have to get to class."

* * *

After Michelle got out of school, Aaron kept calling every ten minutes. She purposely wouldn't answer because she didn't want to talk to him. She laid on the couch and watched music videos on television. She wondered how she was going to let Teddy know she wasn't interested without being too mean about it. She hated that Aaron and Teddy are now fighting because of her. Someone knocked on the door so she walked over to see who it was. Teddy stood there with a small bruise under his eye.

"Can we talk for a little bit?" Teddy asked.

"Come on in," Michelle let him in.

"So since Aaron has seen the note I stuck in your locker this morning, I take it you have to," Teddy said.

"Yeah," Michelle said awkwardly. "Look Teddy you're one of my best friends, and in that way I care about you a ton. But romantically I only have feelings for Aaron. I'm sorry."

Teddy pointed to his eye. "This is the guy you have feelings for right here."

"I know he was wrong to hit you! I told him not to! What did you think would happen though? You're not any better in this situation than he is," Michelle argued.

"All I did was tell you the truth about how I feel about you. Stay with Aaron though and see where you are in four years. I bet you'll be carrying his baby at graduation," Teddy said.

"I can't believe you just said that to me," Michelle look at him with hurt in her eyes. Teddy instantly regretted going that far, but she was done talking to him. "Get out!"

Michelle slammed the door after Teddy walked out. She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair. With Teddy, Aaron and her all being mad at each other, she was completely stressed out. To make matters worse, Denise wasn't allowed to talk on the phone so she couldn't talk to her best friend about it until the next day of school. She sat back down and let her mind wander, hoping everything would turn out okay.


	13. Chapter 13

Three days had passed since the fights occurred. During those three days she hadn't spoken to Aaron or Teddy at all. Aaron was easier not to talk to since he was suspended from school, but she would pass by Teddy and he would purposely turn his head away from looking in her direction. Aaron hadn't made any attempts to call her in a couple of days. She was over being upset and wanted to work things out with both of them.

Denise agreed to talk to Teddy during their lunch hour and see if he would be willing to listen to what Michelle had to say yet. Once lunch began, the girls walked to the cafeteria together.

"I can't believe what a mess this has become. Thanks for doing this," Michelle thanked her.

"No problem. Your drama keeps my life interesting these days anyway," Denise replied.

"Happy to entertain you," Michelle said sarcastically.

Michelle went through the lunch line to get her food while Denise went over to speak to Teddy at his table. When she had gotten her food, Denise came back over.

"He was a little hesitant, but he said he'll talk to you," Denise said.

"Great," Michelle smiled.

Michelle waited until she finished her lunch before going to talk to him. Once she was done, she threw her trash away and headed over there.

"Hi," Michelle said nervously. "Can I take a seat?"

"Sure," Teddy said with a mouthful of food in his mouth.

Michelle took a breath as she took a seat. "What I wanted to say is, I hate that we're not talking. I want to fix things between you, me and Aaron. We're too good of friends to be letting stupid high school drama come between us like this."

"I'm not mad at you Michelle. I know I started all this, and I'm embarrassed by it all. That's why I've purposely been avoiding you. I feel especially bad about what I said to you. I didn't mean it," Teddy admitted.

"It hurt a lot, but I know you didn't mean it," Michelle said. "Can we just put it all behind us now?"

"I'd like to. I don't know if Aaron will let it go though. I really damaged our friendship this time," Teddy acknowledged.

"Honestly I haven't talked to him in a few days. I was kind of not talking to him because I told him not to talk to you about the letter and he did anyway. I'll try to contact him today about it," Michelle replied.

"Okay," Teddy responded.

Michelle went back over to sit with Denise. It felt good that she was able to make amends with Teddy. Now she had to get a hold of Aaron and hope things go well.

"Well Teddy and I are good now. One down, one to go," Michelle took a seat.

"That's great!" Denise smiled.

"Yeah. It's strange though. Aaron went from calling me non-stop to not calling me at all. I hope everything is okay," Michelle said.

"I'm sure it is. He probably took the hint that you're not talking to him and is waiting for you to call," Denise pointed out.

"That's probably it," Michelle agreed.

A guy dressed in all black took a seat beside Michelle. She recognized him as a guy she has seen Aaron with a few times.

"Hi," Michelle looked at him. "Can I help you with something?"

"We haven't really talked before. My name is Cody," Cody introduced himself. "I'm sorry to just come up to you like this, but I talked to Aaron last night and I'm kind of worried."

"Why? What's going on?" Michelle wondered.

"I called him last night and he seemed pretty...unhinged I guess you'd call it. He said everyone would be better off without him. He says stuff like this from time to time when he's angry so I don't really take it too seriously, but his tone this time kind of spooked me. He told me you guys are fighting right now, I think he really needs to hear from you," Cody explained.

Michelle looked frightened. "Yeah of course. I'll call him when I get home from school."

"Thanks," Cody nodded. "Don't worry though. I'm sure he's going to be okay."

Cody walked away and she looked at Denise with a worried look on her face. "You don't think he would do something crazy right?"

Denise shook her head. "Of course not! He's fine."

Michelle didn't look reassured. "I hope so."

* * *

When Michelle got home from school the first thing on her mind was calling Aaron to hear his voice. She was on her way up to her room to use her phone when Jesse stopped her.

"Michelle we have to talk," Jesse stopped her.

"Can it wait Uncle Jesse? I have to make a phone call and it's _really _important," Michelle asked.

"Aaron didn't come home last night. His mom said he got into a big argument with his dad over his suspension and he stormed out of the house," Jesse explained. "She was wondering if you know where he is."

"No. I haven't talked to him in a few days. I have been upset with him," Michelle answered.

"What happened between you two? You guys have been getting so close lately, or so I thought," Jesse questioned.

Michelle was visibly panicked. "Look I don't want to get into it right now. I just want to know that he's okay!"

"Munchkin I'm sure he's fine. He's probably with a friend or a family member blowing off steam. I don't want you to worry too much," Jesse tried comforting her.

"Yeah," Michelle replied. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go call Teddy."

* * *

Michelle quickly picked up her phone and dialed Teddy's number. She knew it wasn't likely that he would have talked to him, but she needed help finding him and had no idea where to start.

"Hello?" Teddy answered.

"Teddy it's me. I just found out Aaron didn't come home last night," Michelle said.

"I know. His mom called here too," Teddy replied.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing! I'm going to go out and try to find him. Will you come with me please? Maybe between the two of us we can figure out where he went," Michelle asked.

"Of course," Teddy responded. "I'll be there in a few."

"Thanks Teddy," Michelle thanked him.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry that it took me almost a month to finish this chapter! Also, while I'm not super descriptive about it, I want to warn you all that there is mention of self-harming in this chapter just in case you don't want to read it.**

* * *

Teddy and Michelle walked together as they begun their search for Aaron. At this point they weren't looking anywhere specific. They were just wandering around aimlessly, talking to each other. Both of them were feeling badly; Teddy with guilt, and Michelle with worry.

"This is all my fault," Teddy sulked. "If I would have just kept my feelings to myself this wouldn't be happening."

"Look Teddy, we can play the blame game all day. It's not going to help us find him," Michelle said.

"The problem is now we have no idea _where_ to find him. For all we know he could have got on a bus and left town," Teddy replied.

"Cody did say that Aaron said we would all be better off without him," Michelle realized. "Oh no, what if you're right? What if he did leave town?"

"Lets just keep wandering around and try to think of places he could be," Teddy suggested.

"He likes the park. We spent the day there before," Michelle remembered.

"Couldn't hurt to see if he's there," Teddy said.

As they headed towards the park, neither said anything for a couple of minutes. Both were too absorbed in their own thoughts to make small talk with each other. Teddy thought about what would happen once him and Aaron crossed paths again.

"So do you think once we find Aaron that he will be able to forgive me?" Teddy asked.

"If nothing like this happens again, then I'm sure he'll come around," Michelle assured him.

"I'm just worried I'll never have a girlfriend. I mean most of the kids in our class are paired up with someone, but that hasn't happened for me yet. The first time I confessed my feelings to someone it went horribly," Teddy sighed.

"Oh Teddy, trust me it will. Having a boyfriend wasn't even on my mind when Aaron and I clicked. It just happened naturally. When the time is right you'll know it. You're only fourteen," Michelle encouraged him.

"I guess I'll just have to wait and see," Teddy said.

"Why don't you try asking a girl to the school dance that's coming up?" Michelle suggested.

Teddy shrugged. "Maybe."

A few minutes later they found themselves standing across the street from the park. They looked both ways until the traffic passed by and crossed the street. Michelle frantically started looking around.

"Aaron!" Michelle yelled.

There weren't very many people there, mainly younger children with their parents. They didn't see him which greatly disappointed Michelle.

"It's hopeless. He's not here," Michelle sighed as she took a seat on a bench.

Teddy took a seat beside her and put his head in his hands, trying as hard as he could to think of anywhere he could be. He looked up at the bunches of trees that stood in front of them and it brought up an old memory that gave him an idea.

"I have an idea! Come with me," Teddy jumped up.

"What is it?" Michelle's face lit up.

"See that trail by all the trees?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah?" Michelle answered.

"Well two summers ago we built a treehouse back there. We haven't hung out there in a while, but maybe he's there," Teddy explained.

"Why has no one told me about this treehouse?" Michelle said in an offended tone.

"You were at summer camp when we made it. Besides we decided just to keep it a secret or everyone would find out about it and want to go there," Teddy responded.

It stung a little that they never told her about it. "Whatever. Let's just go see if he's there."

Michelle followed him as he led the way down the trail. She growled as branches that stuck out from bushes caught her jeans. After a minute she realized they were going pretty far back into the woods.

"If my dad found out I went into the woods he would be mad. You do know your way back right?" Michelle questioned.

"Duh," Teddy answered. "I wouldn't bring us all the way back here if I didn't."

When he turned away she shot him a dirty look. They remained silent the rest of the way. It wasn't until Michelle stepped on a stick which resulted in a loud crack that a voice was heard.

"Who's there?" they heard someone yell.

She couldn't see a face yet, but the voice sounded a lot like Aaron's.

"And we're here," Teddy said.

"Aaron?!" Michelle pushed past Teddy to get to him.

Aaron saw Teddy was with her and looked disgusted. "Now I see why you were dodging my calls."

"I wasn't talking to Teddy at the time either! I brought him with me because I needed help finding you," Michelle explained.

"I didn't want to be found!" Aaron shouted.

Michelle shook her head. "Well too bad because I love you and I'm not letting you continue to sit out here alone."

"You don't love me! _Nobody_ loves me!" Aaron yelled.

"I wouldn't be out here if I didn't," Michelle replied.

"Just take that backstabber over there with you and go," Aaron ordered.

Michelle stepped closer to him. "We're not going anywhere until we work this out, and I'm not leaving here without you regardless! Now Teddy is going to say something and you are going to be quiet and listen to him. Go ahead, Teddy."

"Look, Aaron, I know with what I did it may seem like I don't care about our friendship but I do. I realize what I did was messed up and I deeply regret upsetting both of you. I'm sorry and I promise I won't do it again," Teddy apologized.

"You're _sorry_," Aaron mimicked him. "What about you? Are you sorry too Michelle?"

Michelle bit her lip as she grew angry at how Aaron was behaving. "You know what? No! You promised to let me deal with Teddy and then you went and attacked him in the hallway! You led us on a wild goose chase and made everybody worried about you! You're the one who should be sorry! I'm not standing in these dirty woods anymore! Either come with us, or I'll bring the police back here to get you. Your call."

Aaron folded his arms. "Only if he gets lost."

Michelle looked over at Teddy, who realized it would be best if he left them alone. "Hint taken. I'll see you guys later."

Michelle stood in front of him feeling like she was going to cry. Her voice shook as she spoke. "You had me worried sick Aaron! I didn't know what happened to you." She looked down at his wrist and noticed it was really red, but his long-sleeved shirt was covering most of it. "What's wrong with your wrist?"

Aaron quickly pulled his arm back and turned away. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Michelle raised her voice. "You didn't answer my question. What happened to it?"

"It's nothing okay? I was really mad and it just happened," Aaron answered.

"No it's not _okay_! You hurt yourself on purpose!" Michelle yelled. She walked over and raised his arm sleeve to look at the lower half of his arm. A fresh cut about three inches long went from his wrist down his arm. It wasn't very deep, but it was enough to make her feel like she had been punched in the gut. Aaron felt tears form in his eyes as he watched Michelle's shocked reaction. "Lets just get out of here okay?"

Aaron wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Yeah."

Aaron led them out and they walked together silently. While Aaron had nothing to say, Michelle had plenty.

"I need to know. Is that the first time you, you know, hurt yourself?" Michelle asked.

"Yes. It's not a habit if that's what you're trying to imply. Once I calmed down I regretted it a lot," Aaron answered.

"Okay," Michelle accepted that answer. "Aaron when I said I love you I meant it. I'm sorry I ignored your calls. My day just sucked. After you attacked Teddy, it was all the people in class would talk about for the rest of the day. A bunch of nosey people would come up to me and ask me personal questions. Then Teddy and I ended up fighting and I just wanted to be left alone for the rest of the day. I still want to be with you as long as you want to be with me."

Aaron nodded. "I do. I'm just worn out. Would you mind if I just went home by myself?"

Michelle forced a smile. She was disappointed that he didn't want to talk more. "Yeah go ahead. Call me when you feel up to it."

The two of them hugged and went there separate ways. She was relieved that he was safe, but she was still very worried about him. The first thing she was going to do when she got home was take a warm shower, then sit by the phone hoping he would give her a call tonight.


	15. Chapter 15

Michelle walked through the halls hoping to see Aaron since he was allowed back into school today. She hadn't heard from him since they parted ways. She figured he didn't call because he fell asleep early or something. She was looking forward to see him now that things were looking up.

Denise noticed her wandering around so she snuck up behind her and put her hands on her shoulders. Michelle quickly jumped and looked back to see who touched her.

Michelle wasn't amused. "Geez Denise. Give me a heart attack why dontcha?"

Lowering her voice, Denise apologized. "Sorry. Teddy told me you guys had an eventful day yesterday. Care to fill me in on the deets?"

Michelle tried to be careful not to overshare anything Aaron wouldn't want her to know. "Unfortunately there's not really many to give. We worked things out but I was hoping he would call me last night though and he didn't. He should be back at school today though so hopefully we'll talk."

"Yeah I know I saw him through the office window waiting to see the principal," Denise said.

Michelle looked down at her watch and sighed. The bell was going to ring in a couple minutes. It was looking like she wasn't going to be able to talk to Aaron before class.

A few hours later it was time to go to the class she shared with him. As she sat in her seat, she kept her eyes glued to the door waiting for him to walk through. Student after student came in but there was no sign of Aaron. Once the teacher closed the door and started class she began to start worrying that something was wrong. The class was reading a book aloud but she couldn't focus. All she could think about was what Aaron was doing. Was he still in trouble? Was he avoiding her? A bunch of scenarios streamed through her mind.

"Michelle it's your turn," the teacher said.

Crap. She had no idea where they were let alone what page they were on. She hadn't flipped the pages at all since they started. She had to admit out loud to everyone that she wasn't paying attention. "I'm sorry, I lost my place. Where are we?"

"Page 95, first paragraph," the teacher replied.

Michelle felt her face grow red as she had to flip six pages ahead. She read until the teacher told her to stop and made it someone elses turn. Denise noticed she seemed bothered by something but the teacher was paying attention too closely for her to write her a note secretly so she left it alone for now.

* * *

It was now the end of the school day. Michelle was on her way out the front doors of the school when she saw Aaron through the glass. She pushed through the group of people walking in front of her and ran to catch him.

"Aaron!" Michelle shouted running down the steps.

"Hey," Aaron greeted.

"I thought you were coming back today," Michelle wondered.

"I am back," Aaron responded.

Michelle was confused. "You weren't in class though."

"I know. I just wasn't feeling the whole school thing today so I took the day off," Aaron explained.

"Day off? Don't you think you've had enough days off?" Michelle asked.

"Actually I don't think I've had enough," Aaron smirked.

"I want you to come to class tomorrow please," Michelle requested.

"Michelle, you're my girlfriend not my mother. Just back off! I'll go to class when I want to. Until then just give me some space," Aaron turned and walked away.

Michelle stood there with hurt feelings as she watched him start walking home. She so badly wanted to call him out for being a jerk but they were surrounded by a lot of people and she didn't want to create a scene for everyone to gossip about.

* * *

When Michelle got home she went straight to her room. She threw down her books, laid in bed, put on some music and let herself mope. With the way things have been going it felt like their relationship was coming to an end sooner or later. The thought of it crushed her.

About twenty minutes later she heard Jesse, Nicky and Alex come into the house. From what she could tell Jesse was upset with them about something, but she could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation. The next thing she heard someone was on their way up the stairs. She hoped whoever it was would leave her alone.

A loud knock on her door echoed through the room. "Michelle can I come in?"

"Give me a sec." Michelle quickly stood up and tried to wipe away any evidence that she had been crying with her sleeve. She walked over and opened the door for her Uncle Jesse.

"I was wondering if you could watch the boys for a little bit," Jesse requested.

Great. Watching Nicky and Alex was absolutely the last thing she wanted to do right now. She couldn't tell her uncle no without feeling bad about it afterwards though and the last thing she wanted was another thing to feel bad about. "Yeah I can."

The cracking in her voice and the redness around her eyes tipped him off that something was wrong. "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying."

"I'm fine," Michelle lied.

Jesse took her hand and pulled her to sit beside him on the bed. "No your not. Now talk to your Uncle J. What's really going on?"

Michelle inhaled deeply as she fiddled with her fingers. "Things have just been complicated with Aaron. He's sort of pushing me away and I'm worrying a lot about the future of our relationship. What if it don't work out?"

"Aaron's clearly going through some stuff. Believe me, I know better than anybody that it's easier to push people away than to be open and honest about what your feeling. He shouldn't be taking it out on you though. You're a wonderful girl Michelle and he'd be stupid to lose you."

"Thanks Uncle Jesse," Michelle sighed.

Jesse leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead then stood up. "I'll be back soon."

He was planning on going to the Smash Club to take care of a few things, but now he's decided he has a stop to make first. Aaron got on his nerves more often than not, but deep down he knew he wasn't a bad kid. He hated seeing his niece up in her room crying over him so he figured maybe he could get through to him before it was too late.


	16. Chapter 16

Jesse parked his motorcycle and made his way up to Aaron's doorstep. He hoped Aaron would answer instead of one of his parents so he wouldn't have to explain why he was coming over to see a fourteen year old.

"You're doing this for Michelle," he reminded himself as his nerves were getting to him.

He knocked on the door. While waiting for someone to answer he kept his eye on some kids playing frisbee in the street, making sure they didn't come near his motorcycle. He turned his head when he heard the door open.

Aaron stood there shocked to see Jesse at his house. "What the... what are you doing here?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute please?" Jesse requested.

Aaron raised his eyebrow, confused by what all of this was about. "I guess. Just remember that you're at _my_ house."

As they both took a seat on the front porch Jesse started up the conversation. "Look I'm sure Michelle has told you that I wasn't the biggest fan of you two dating at first..."

"She's mentioned it once or twice," Aaron interrupted.

"Yeah, well, I can see how happy Michelle is when things are going well with you guys and that's all I really care about, but today I came over and she was in her room crying because you're pushing her away and I don't like that one bit," Jesse warned.

"Look I wasn't trying to make her cry. All I did was take the day off and she got on my case like she's my mother instead of my girlfriend. It bugs me when she does that sometimes," Aaron explained.

"A girlfriend who cares about you, how horrible," Jesse said sarcastically. "Look I get the whole teen angst thing, I've been there. It's not fair of you to take your problems out on Michelle though. You have a great girl right now and if you don't watch it before you know it you won't have her anymore. She's only looking out for you because she wants you to be the best you can be. I'm leaving now. Just think about what I said," Jesse advised as he walked back to his motorcycle.

Aaron sat there just letting it all sink in.

* * *

Michelle was working on her homework at around seven o'clock. A knock on her bedroom door stole her attention.

"Who is it?" Michelle asked.

"Aaron. Your dad let me in," Aaron answered.

Michelle walked over and let him in. "Hi."

"Hi," Aaron said awkardly. "I wanted to apologize. For not calling, for today, for everything. Fighting with you, with Teddy, with my dad... it's all just been a lot."

"I've been trying to get everything back to normal but it seems like you won't let it," Michelle pointed out.

"I know. Your uncle came to my house to talk to me this afternoon and it got me thinking. You're one of the most important people in my life Michelle and I don't want to lose you so before I came over I got you this," Aaron said as he pulled a ring out his pocket.

Michelle looked surprised. "You're not proposing are you?!"

"Of course not! It's not much but I wanted you to know I care," Aaron said as he slipped the ring on her ring finger.

"Aaron I love it! Thank you," Michelle beamed.

"Also I want you to be my date for the school dance," Aaron proposed.

"I'm in but I thought you didn't like those things?" Michelle questioned.

"_I_ don't but _you_ do. Make sure you tell Teddy in advance so we can make it a double date thing," Aaron offered.

"You're going to forgive Teddy?" Michelle asked.

"Might as well," Aaron shrugged. Michelle grinned happily. "I don't know much, but I know that I love you. I also know that when things get rough I want you by my side, and I always want to be by your side as well."

The first time she said I love you Aaron didn't say it back, so to hear him say it touched her. "I love you too Aaron."

"I see your doing homework. Does that mean you can't go out tonight?" Aaron asked.

"I've got all weekend to do it. Where do you want to go?" Michelle wondered.

"How about we get as many people as we can together and go to the Smash Club?" Aaron proposed.

"That sounds fun! We haven't hung out as a group in a while," Michelle realized.

Aaron pulled Michelle into a kiss before she grabbed the phone.

* * *

They managed to gather Teddy, Derek and some other school friends. Jesse, who was working, smiled as he watched Michelle enjoying herself with her friends. Michelle saw him look over at them and decided to go talk to him for a minute.

"So I should be mortified that you went to my boyfriends house and talked to him, and I still kind of am, but whatever you said seemed to work so thanks," Michelle thanked him.

"I'm glad he came around," Jesse said.

"We're getting along a lot better now. He even gave me this ring," Michelle stretched out her hand and showed him.

"No rings," Jesse said jokingly.

"It's not that kind of ring Uncle Jesse," Michelle rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad that you aren't mad that I went to talk to him. I just didn't want to see you hurting," Jesse explained.

"I'm not," Michelle said.

Jesse nodded. "You look like you have a fun group over there so have fun with your friends. Love you munchkin."

"Love you too," Michelle smiled walking back to her table.

That night ended up being one of the best nights Michelle had in a while. It only reminded her what amazing people she had in her life. Her friends who she always has a great time with, her family who goes through great lengths to make sure she's happy, and of course Aaron who at this point she was pretty much completely in love with. Freshman year had now turned into her favorite school year of her life so far. Even though she didn't know how it could get better, she was looking forward to seeing what the rest of her high school life would bring for them.

* * *

**A/N: Yes the story is now complete! Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read it. I had a fun time writing it. **


End file.
